Happy Meal

by Meghann on November 3, 2010

Growing up I ate A LOT of McDonalds Happy Meals.

Between ballet class, soccer, night classes, and having four kids, it was the easiest option for my parents at the time. It was quick, cheap, and the four of us would practically beg for it. Fortunately the older we got, the better cook my Dad became, and the less and less McDonalds we saw. But there was once a time would I would beg for chicken mcnuggets, small fry, and fun prize inside. 🙂

I haven’t had a happy meal – or mcnugget – in years, but tonight’s meal took me back to those childhood memories of the red smiley face boxes and fighting over prizes with my siblings.

Let’s see you have the French Fries (or yuca fries in my case)

Chicken Nuggets (of the meatless gardien variety)

And the prize (a jalapeno corn muffin)

Ok, so it’s not exactly the same, but it still brings me back. 🙂

For dessert a little Pumpkin Ice Cream in a Cake Cone.

This afternoon I had my last Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.

I will be making these again soon. Very Soon.

What was your favorite fast food place growing up? If we are talking about places close to home, I would say Burger King, but places that were a special treat and I only got when we drove 30 minutes to the nearest mall I would say Chick Fil A all the way! 😉

Honestly, the only times we had fast food was when my grammy pulled us out of school for a doctors appointment. She would ask us if we missed lunch and we’d always say yes.. I liked Wendy’s the best and if I ever eat fast food these days it’s only every wendy’s.Katie @ Healthy Heddleston recently posted..Oh My Music Surprise!

Hmm, when I was really young I liked McDonalds because of the toys (Teeny Beanie Babies!). I also liked Taco Bell. When I got older (late teens), I started going to places like Panera and Brueggers Bagels, which isn’t exactly fast food 🙂

My favorite was definitely McDonalds 🙂 Only, my sister and I were very picky eaters, so every time we went my mother had to order “two cheeseburger Happy Meals… uhhh, no meat on the cheeseburgers…” Too funny!Laura @ Backstage Pass recently posted..Wish list- Cookbooks

Does Panera count as fast food? Because I loved that place. And it actually started in my hometown! It’s still called St. Louis Bread Co. there!Amanda (Eating Up) recently posted..My Crave List- Thanksgiving Gadgets

I ate so much McDonalds when I was little it’s not even funny. Ugh. My Dad’s favorite story to tell EVERYONE is of me recognizing the tall McDonald’s signs from my carseat and crying for it… yea, seriously, who does that? Your healthier version looks much much better for sure!Stephanie @cookinfanatic recently posted..Fast- Easy Flavorful Can It Be Done

Taco Time all the way! We rarely ate fast food but my cousin had her birthday dinner at Taco Time every year and I loved it. I usually ate the taco salad but I remember going through a bean burrito phase.

I used to LOVE McDonalds. Happy Meals were the bomb! I would always get offended because they would ask if we wanted a “boy toy” or “girl toy”. I always wanted the racecars, not the Barbies! :pCristina recently posted..RR- Spinx Run Fest Half-Marathon

When the Happy Meal prizes were mini Beanie Babies – I was all over those! I haven’t had it in a long time, but my favorite fast food place in the last several years was definitely Chick-fil-a. I wouldn’t be a true Atlantan if I said any other place. The waffle fries, the Ice Dreams, the “my pleasure” whenever I thanked a cashier…. I loved it so much.

My family didn’t get fast food that much, and for some reason I HATED McDonalds, other than the Egg Nog shakes at Christmas. However, I loved it when we went to Pizza Hut so I could have stuffed crust pizza!grocery goddess jen recently posted..Giant Cat Head

Can’t say it was my favorite, but we had a Burger King closer to our house growing up, so that was the fast food of choice on the occasions we had it. I do remember the tiny beanie babies in the McDonalds meals though! I remember trying to get the new ones as soon as they came out one summer.RunningOnCoffee recently posted..Recipe- Curried Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

We used to get happy meals every tuesday before we went to the open air concert at the levitt center. The best part were the muppet babies toys that summer. We tried to collect them all!Beth (kitchenminions) recently posted..Pasta with Shrimp and Roasted Peppers

We were only allowed McDonalds on very special occasions, but boy was it a treat! Now, I couldn’t think of anything worse! I have been drooling over your pumkin cinnamon rolls for days now, I really need to make them!Hope recently posted..Brought to you by the colour blue

ugh i ate wayy too much mcyD’s too…i hope to give my kids more of what you’re showcasing this evening 🙂 living in nyc i think my kids will never touch a mcdonalds…! here’s to hoping…. Ssara recently posted..262

This sounds super lame so I feel the need to preface my answer with the fact that I’m from an island and thus my childhood experiences were a little different, but –

the burbon chicken place at the mall! I don’t even know the name but there seems to be some variety of burbon chicken stand in pretty much every food court in America. I was obsessed with it; my number one request when we visited the states!emily recently posted..Squashing My To-Do List

growing up my mom would never ever take us to fast food, so I dont have too many fast food memories, but since we grew up in Japan, we did eat a heck of a lot of cup ramen (cup noodles, but Japanese version, which is WAY yummier) ahhhhh good old days

I also ate tons of McDonald’s growing up, and Mickey D’s was my favorite fast food restaurant. As a special treat, though, we always got KFC when we went to hear the Symphony for July 4th. And we rarely went to Long John Silver’s, and I loved covering my fish with vinegar.Britney recently posted..How to get ready for a post-work run

I certainly had/have many eating vices, but fast food was never one of them. To be honest I don’t remember ever going to fast food growing up and there is something that really grosses me out about it. Your pumpkin desserts on the other hand look fabulous!

Fast Food was just one of those things my parents did to make it work. Luckily it wasn’t a habit that stuck and in middle school and high school my Dad started cooking at home a lot more and we stopped relying on fast food. Hopefully my kids will grow up never having fast food either, but I respect my parents for feeding us what they could and when they could. They were only 20 when my brother and I were born!

I definitely did not mean to imply judgement! It sounds like your parents did an amazing job – and you seemed to turn out okay. 😉 I had more than my own fair share of unhealthy habits, it was just that fast food wasn’t one of them…Emily Eats and Exercises recently posted..Sans Vegatables

I remember when my mom was pregnant with my little sister, after her doctor’s appointments we would always go to McDonald’s. It was my favorite. I also liked going to Chick-fil-A. I still go there occasionally. Their chicken nuggets are too good to pass up! 🙂Hope recently posted..Now I’m Feelin’ So Fly Like a G6…

I used to get a happy meal (with an orange drink) every Thursday after my horseback riding lesson (until I got my license… yes that means I was 16 getting a happy meal, don’t judge)… It would be too late for my mom to cook anything and I would be HUNGRY. Coincidentally, the same lady worked every Thursday and she had the WORST smokers voice (think Ma on Ma’s Roadhouse!) and she worked the drive thru!! My mom and I would laugh everytime then fight to keep a straight face when we had to pay.Jillian @ Reshape Your Life recently posted..How to turn your boyfriend into a prince…

Growing up I ate a lot of Happy Meals also – now, I avoid Mcy D’s if at all possible. But when I lived in Georgia I lovvvved the chicken sandwiches at Chick-fil-A (which you could get on a wheat bun with a side of fruit) 🙂

Based on the size of your dinner and makeup of it (not just low volume but low calories) your nutrionest MUST be evaluating your meals differently than your readers would. Could you provide us with their insite?

woah – I really wasnt trying to be snide. I am really interested to know what your RD says about your meals. I know that for me, my RD has me eat a LOT more fat than you seem to get in in an entire day’s worth of meals.

I’m so sorry! I guess I was on edge from the other comments. Please forgive me. 🙂

I’m trying to get more fats in too, but it’s a challenge sometimes. But the yucca fries for instance were coated with olive oil before baking to add an extra bit of fat to them and the ice cream has a good amount of fat as well. My problem is right now I don’t naturally navigate towards things with fat in them, so I’m slowly learning. Adding olive oil and nuts to meals seems to be helping though. I’m still a carbaholic though – it’s such a hard habit to break! 🙂

Funny you mention this on the day SF announces their ban on happy meal toys in unhealthy meals! I’m with them all the way. If healthy options are paired with toys, I think the reward will make children more likely to opt for them…Beth @ DiningAndDishing recently posted..A Couple Reviews…